Department for International Trade

Overseas Investment: Ukraine

Lord Patten: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the opportunities for inward investment to the Ukraine by UK companies.

Lord Price: There are a number of areas of potential interest for UK investors in Ukraine, including Agriculture, Energy and Infrastructure.Ukraine has recently been moving up the World Bank Doing Business survey (now 83, up 5 places from 2015) but it continues to lag on the Corruption perception index (142 out of 175 countries ranked).Ukraine’s Government is keen to attract foreign investors and is taking steps towards improving the business climate and the UK Government is providing assistance e.g. with the recent establishment of an Anti-corruption Bureau and Business Ombudsman which has been positively received by business leaders. But more still needs to be done.

Department for Culture, Media and Sport

Nuisance Calls

Baroness Altmann: To ask Her Majesty’s Government why cold calls regarding mortgages can be banned but not cold calls offering free pension reviews or unregulated pension investments.

Lord Ashton of Hyde: The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) prohibition on cold calling applies to financial promotion of mortgages by FCA regulated firms. Under the FCA rules, regulated entities (including mortgage providers) are not allowed to engage in real-time financial promotion of mortgages and therefore no legitimate market for telephone promotion and sales exists.The Government tightened controls on cold calling earlier this year, when amending the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR), making it a requirement for organisations making direct marketing calls to display their Calling Line Identification (CLI). These controls need time to bed in before considering whether further changes, specific to pensions, are appropriate. If there is a case for change, the Government will take the necessary action.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Livestock: Antibiotics

Baroness Jones of Whitchurch: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the final report and recommendations of the Review on Antimicrobial Resistance published on 19 May, what actions they are taking to reduce to agreed target levels the use in the UK of antibiotics in livestock and fish farming by 2018.

Lord Gardiner of Kimble: The Government published its response to the final report and recommendations of the Review on Antimicrobial Resistance on 16 September 2016.In response to the Review, we have committed to work closely with different individual sectors to ensure that appropriate sector specific reduction targets are agreed by 2017 so that future reductions are greatest where there is most scope, and that they are underpinned by improvements which focus on encouraging best practice and responsible use of antibiotics.This work aligns with the actions already set out in the Government’s Five-Year Antimicrobial Resistance Strategy, including improving the stewardship of existing antibiotics, improving infection prevention and control and optimising prescribing practice.

Rights of Way

Lord Patten: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Gardiner of Kimble on 4 July (HL761), by what date they expect the draft regulations seeking to amend the Local Authorities (Recovery of Costs for Public Path Orders) Regulations 1993 to be laid before Parliament.

Lord Gardiner of Kimble: I am unable to confirm a precise date at present but I expect to publish the draft regulations later in the session.